Don Sweeney reveals the absurd amount of candidates interviewed for the vacant head coaching position
Photo credit: Daily Faceoff
The Boston Bruins went through a long process to find their new head coach, and now it was revealed the shocking amount of candidates they ended up interviewing during the process.
After firing Jim Montgomery during the 2024-25 season, Don Sweeney needed to find a replacement for him during the off-season.
It was a long process, and the Bruins missed out on multiple head coaches, but ended up hiring
former Boston Bruins forward Marco Sturm as the organizations 30th head coach and introduced him on Tuesday.
Having General Manager Don Sweeney by his side, it was revealed how many candidates were interviewed for the position.
Bruins Interviewed An Absurd Amount Of Head Coaches
«Some of them were initial conversations, but there was always one or two, so probably about 14,» Sweeney said on Tuesday during NESN's coverage.
Sweeney stated that the reason they went with Sturm was because of the multiple qualities he had that jumped out at him:
«I think the thing that started to resonate was his passion for coaching,» Sweeney told NESN's Adam Pellerin. «Everybody sees the picture that Marco scores the overtime goal in an outdoor game and they know he's a passionate player but his details, the command that he wants to have on this team. Game management that people spoke highly about. He described his ability to adjust but again it comes back to his team's play with structure.»
Sturm doesn't have NHL head coaching experience, but he was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings from 2018-22, and then served as head coach for their affiliate the last three years.
Sweeney believes that Sturm has what it takes to get the Bruins back to a winning team:
«He didn't give it up (on Tuesday) in terms of what his offensive philosophies are, but we're going to get the puck back,» Sweeney said. «We're going to possess the puck in the offensive zone. We're going to have a neutral zone that's difficult to play.»
Previously on Bruins Insider
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